The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity: Instructions for the Future

Today we celebrate Trinity Sunday. The feast is more than the assertion of an article of faith.  Yes, it emphasizes our belief in One God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  But the feast is more than a celebration of dogma.

The feast is about personal relationships: the interrelationship of the three persons of the Trinity, the relationship of God and us, and the relationship of us and our fellow men and women.

All three relationships are pointed to in the Gospel for this Sunday. This Sunday’s Gospel is the conclusion of the Gospel of Matthew.  It contains the Lord’s final words to his disciples just before the Ascension. “Go and make disciples of all nations.  Baptize them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Teach them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And Know that I am with you until the end of time.”
 
The disciples are told to baptize in the Name of the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, not just in the name of Jesus, but in the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit.  Why?  The dynamic Love that makes God God, the Love of the Father and Son is itself the Holy Spirit.  The Eternal Swirling of Love that is the Trinity is itself the life giving Love that flows into a person during baptism. The interrelationship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit becomes the spiritual life of the baptized.  Many years ago we used to speak about this as the indwelling of the Holy Trinity.  Perhaps, this all seemed too good to be true. But it is true.  God’s love for us is infinitely greater than our imagination.  At our baptism we aren’t just incorporated into God’s love, we are caught up into God and God is caught up into us.

Jesus tells his disciples and us to provide this love to all who will accept his Good News, his Gospel.  Baptize in the Name of the Trinity.  Extend your relationship with God to others.

To do this we have to teach others all that Jesus has taught us.  We are to continue the work of Jesus.  Imagine Jesus saying to each of us.  “I’m going now, but you, you take my place.”

“What?” we ask.  “What should we say to people?”

“Just teach people everything I have taught you.  That’ll work just fine,” Jesus responds.

“But, Lord,” we protest.  “How can we do that.  How can we be you for others?”

“Just do what I have told you,” Jesus says, and know something, you won’t be doing it alone.  I am with you always until the end of the time.”

That is the theological basis of this feast.  Now, let’s get practical.

We are part of a great force, a great army.  We are at war with evil.  We are fighting for the victory of good.  Our goal is nothing less than the complete transformation of the world from a place of selfishness and hatred into a haven of giving and love. We have to confront evil with good, kindness and generosity.  We can’t be satisfied just with making the world a better place.  We have to make the world God’s place.

How are we to do this?  Well, we make God present in our lives and God does the rest.  In today’s Gospel Jesus doesn’t leave the disciples and us alone.  No, he tells us that he will be with us.

We need His Presence.  When we make a decision for the Lord, we are ostracized from the society that has rejected Him, or at least, put His Presence on hold until a more convenient time.  So, when we say that we will not take part in an immoral action, or that we need to spend time with the Lord, we are treated as some sort of a religious nut.  Sometimes, it seems as though everyone is against us.  It is so much easier to just go along with the crowd.  But everyone is not against us.  Jesus is with us.  He and any one of us makes a majority.

“Look at the Life I have given you,” the Lord says today.  “It is my life, the Divine Life of the Trinity.  Give this Life to others.  Proclaim my Gospel with your lives.  And know that I will be with you through every situation, every choice, every rejection, every success.”

The Kingdom of God is flourishing throughout the world.  We are its vanguard.